Research Interests

Research Supervision Interests

I am interested in supervising research students in the following areas:

Sustainability

Environmental Education

Theory and Method

Bio

I have a PhD in Sociology. My research expertise is in sustainability and the related areas of social movements and capacity building.

Questions that inspire my research are:

How can we understand human action across individual, collective and institutional scales?

What strategies, such as green jobs, foster interactions among neighbourhood organizations, non-profits, and government bodies and thereby promote sustainable communities?

How can catalytic interventions, such as mega-events, be planned to offer “creative solution-making” for existing social problems?

How can pedagogy make common cause with progressive social movements by incorporating action theory?

My research can be categorized into the following broad topics:

Sustainability education

Sport mega-events

Green economy

I employ diverse strategies and tools to study each of these areas, such as indicator-based measurements, multi-stakeholder engagement, cultural models, cross-case analysis, and simulation technology. My research and educational interests are interdisciplinary, participatory, and sensitive to local problems.

VanWynsberghe R., & Herman A. (in press). Transformative education, pragmatist theory, and the features of educative environments designed for social change. International Journal of Lifelong Education.

VanWynsberghe R., & Moore J. (in press). Enabling sustainability: Five key features of the learning city classroom. Environment, Development and Sustainability.

VanWynsberghe, R. (2001). Organizing a community response to environmental injustice: The case of Walpole Island’s heritage centre. In R. K. Schutt & S. Hartwell (Eds.), Research in social problems and public policy (Volume 9) (pp. 221-243). New York: JAI Press.

VanWynsberghe, R., & Ritchie, I. C. (1998). (Ir)Relevant rings: The symbolic consumption of the Olympic logo in postmodern media culture. In G. Rail (Ed.), Sport and postmodern times (pp. 367-384). New York: State University of New York Press.